Phoenixes Don't Sing
by MissingExodus
Summary: Future DP, possible AU, rated for language, possible crude humor, blood, etc. When one lives in Amity Park, one learns to never take things at face value. Although, a group of teens are going to learn the hard way when a phoenix comes to town...
1. I Remember Fire and the Phoenix

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OCs and the plot.

* * *

It all happened so fast.

The fire, the deaths, the shrieks of terror; its all a jumble of hazy flashes of memories that I can barely grasp. Actually, I doubt anyone who witnessed that night can fully recall it or even forget what they remember.

All of my memories of that night are clouded with smoke; the very smoke that took my mother from me. I remember that night. Pieces of it, but I still remember. I remember…

…The scent of smoke pouring under my doorway…

…The bright, almost blinding, light that caused me to cover my face with my forearms…

…The burning wall of hot air and flames that greeted me…

…My shriek of pure terror and surprise…

…Dodging the angry, spitting flames as they tried to consume me…

…My strangled pleas for help as the smoke choked me…

…Men in bulky yellow suits coming towards me as my vision faded…

…Three words, "You'll be alright"…

From what I heard on the news that was playing on the TV in my hospital bed when I woke, everyone within a 5-mile radius had come to help stop the fire.

_Fire._

That single word once upon a time meant nothing to me. Now, it is the very word that symbolizes the night my world came to a screeching halt. And God, how I hate that word with every fiber of my being.

The fire was purposely set, the intent was to kill or at the very least cause serious property damage. Both were accomplished. That night, my mother, my home, and whatever hope I possessed had perished in eternal flames.

Now, all that remains of that tragic night are the burn marks that adorn my arms and legs. One in particular, located in the middle of back, seems to have taken the shape of a beautiful bird. A nurse told it me, "Why, it must be the Phoenix!"

She told me that at the end of its life span, the phoenix burns itself at the stake, and a new phoenix is born from the ashes. The new phoenix is said to live as long as the old one and phoenixes are said to be able to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe. Thus, these birds are virtually immortal and invincible.

What else is left for me? I have never known a life outside of Ellsworth, Nevada. But now, now I'm being sent to a foster home. After all, I am an orphan. My father died before I was born, and my mother had newly perished.

I am like the phoenix; I have been wounded by an unseen foe. Now, I must set myself to the task of healing myself.


	2. A Phoenix Must Rise From Its Ashes

**Hello, my readers. Welcome to the first offical chapter of "Phoenixes Don't Sing". There is constant Japanese spoken throughout this story, so a list of terms and their basic meanings will be posted before each chapter. Also, I am well aware that this story is probably AU. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom nor do I own "Pain" by Three Days Grace. I only own my OCs and the plot.**

**List of Japanese Terms and Names:**

**Mitsushita, Kazue - Lilith's godmother; sort of an aunt to her; Japanese descent. First name means "branch; first blessing; harmonious"**

**Obasan - Japanese for "aunt". Lilith calls Kazue this.**

**Okaasan - Japanese for "Mother". Lilith uses this term when refering to Sam.**

**Hai - Japanese for "yes"**

**Fennikkusuko - Japanese for "little phoenix". Kazue uses this as a pet name for Lilith.**

**Seppuku - basically means suicide. Consists of slitting one's gut as a form of an honorable death. Used mainly in the Sengoku Jidai (Fuedal Japan) when one comits a crime (usually a noble or a samurai) as a form of exucution.**

**Makita, Ayano - Lilith's new identity in Casper High. Ayano means "of color/silk". **

**I hope I haven't forgotten anything. If there are any terms I have forgotten, feel free to ask me.**

* * *

A black Toyota truck pulled out onto the Interstate. An Asian woman was in the driver's seat. Lying down in the passenger seat was 14-year-old Lilith Fenton, the sole survivor of the fire that devastated her home and life. Kazue Mitsushita smiled sadly as she glanced at the sleeping teenager. Just barely a week had passed and already the young girl was being shipped off to a town she had never even _been_ to where she would live among total strangers. To Kazue, it seemed like the social workers had just made a verdict and didn't really care what happened to the poor girl.

Lilith had always been extremely close to Kazue, having adopted her as a sort of aunt. Sam, Lilith's mother, had arrived in Ellsworth, Nevada with a horribly swollen abdomen, signifying that she would give birth any day. Her husband had been killed by ghosts and she had left her childhood home to escape the memories of the painful past that she was the unlucky victim of.

Sam had been so happy when Lilith was born. Lilith had been the spiting image of her father, with jet-black hair and beautiful blue eyes. Kazue, having worked her way into the young mother's friend circle, was named Lilith's godmother. Of course, the committee had decided Lilith would be "better off" in a town that had harbored her mother and father as children. That alone pissed Kazue off more than anything. The sound of her goddaughter waking up pulled Kazue out of her reprieve.

"Kazue-obasan…what are you doing…oh. I remember now."

Lilith returned her seat to its upright position and rested her elbow on the truck door, her head resting on her hand. "Let me recap. I go to bed a perfectly normal teenager and wake up to flames spitting all around me. I try to get out only to collapse and black out from inhaling all the smoke. I'm rescued and sent to the hospital only to discover that Okaasan is dead and my home is nothing but ruble and ashes. And, if that wasn't shocking enough, I discover that the fire did more to me than just make me an orphan." She held up a lock of her now fire-colored hair that seemed to glow as if it held real fire. She dropped it and sighed, "And I still don't know why. Then, the damn committee decides to ship me off to Amity Park. Does that about sum it up?"

"Hai, fennikkusuko. We're almost there, by the way."

Lilith sighed. "Fine. Hand me a knife when we get there; I'm seriously considering committing seppuku."

Kazue laughed, "Don't even joke, fennikkusuko. I'm sure you'll adapt. You always do, right?"

"I guess so," Lilith said as she shrugged.

* * *

Terra Foley had a perfectly wonderful life. Her dad was the mayor (had been since he was her age), her mother was a professional ghost hunter, and she was pretty damn wealthy for it. She had a wonderful, loving older brother in his junior year at Casper High and was pretty attractive to boot. Not to mention the fact that she had inherited her father's intelligence with technology. She had small group of some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for. 

The only thing she didn't have was a challenge.

But then she met the new kid.

* * *

Terra entered her first period class: Freshman Literature with Mrs. Peterson. 

She was all alone in this class. Two of her best friends, Isabella (Iz for short) Matthews and Song Lee, were in World Geography with Mr. Bullen, Christine Baxter was in Geometry with Mrs. Weimer, and Elodie Waters was in Drawing 1 with Mrs. Iverson.

The class was in complete chaos as normal. A small group of 3 or 4 jocks were in the front middle of the rows of desks flicking paper footballs, a group of preps were discussing makeup and fingernail polish and what they were doing over the weekend, one or two students were scribbling down the notes that were on the board as if their lives depended on it, and then Terra spotted _her_.

This girl was just sitting in a desk, staring out at the torrential downpour and the various people scrambling from their cars to the dry warmth of the school with no interest or amusement in her eyes. This girl's hair was a fiery red-orange, and looked as if she had made a fire and then caught the flames, weaving them into her strands of hair. From the angle Terra was at, she couldn't tell if the girl had amber eyes or brown eyes. Her skin was fair and a hint of a tan lingered on it. She was dressed in a form fitting black t-shirt that had a red rose lying down alone in the rain printed on it. A few symbols, which Terra believed were either Japanese or Chinese (she never could tell the difference), were in the upper right hand corner of the design. Her jeans were stereotypical blue jeans that flattered her figure rather nicely. The whole outfit was ten times more modest then what some other girls wore. All and all, the girl was fairly attractive.

"All right, class, take your seats so I can take attendance."

Terra sat down in her usual spot as the class scrambled to do the same.

The girl hadn't moved.

* * *

She stood up. 

The movement was so sudden that Terra hadn't even suspected it. Her aqua eyes were trained on this stranger as she walked up to Mrs. Peterson. She made her presence known and spoke a few words that were so soft Terra couldn't hear them. Mrs. Peterson nodded and the girl returned to her seat and resumed her motionless position. Mrs. Peterson then scribbled something down.

"Makita, Ayano?"

"Here."

Everyone turned to the source of the voice. It was the new girl.

_So she does have a name, _Terra thought as she looked down at her notebook and scribbled it down.

Ayano Makita…

This girl was a threat.

* * *

Then came lunch. Terra took her sack lunch (thankful her parents still didn't trust school food) and sat down that the table she and her friends always sit at. Four girls walked up to the table and sat down. 

"Come on, Elodie!" A girl with wavy light brown hair and salty blue eyes and a pug nose said, "What would it hurt?"

A petite girl with pale blonde hair and watery blue eyes shot the flirtatious brunette a glare, "You two would probably kill me!"

A tall, slim blonde with sea green eyes sat down next to the petite blonde. "Isabella, leave Elodie alone. She obviously doesn't want to tell you guys, so stop bugging her about it."

Isabella folded her arms and pouted, "You're no fun. And it's Iz!"

An Asian girl dressed entirely in shades of purple sat down next to Terra.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, Iz, but Christine's right."

The tall blonde, Christine, smiled smugly.

"After all, Elodie is bound to crack sooner or later!"

Briefly, it passed Christine's mind that if she were in anime, she would have successfully completed an anime fall. She gently whacked the Asian in the head.

"Maybe that'll help straighten out your brain, Song Lee."

Song Lee rubbed her head and mumble incoherent words.

"Say, Terra? See that girl over there, the new girl? Why don't you go ask if she wants to eat with us?"

The African-American girl looked at her friend, "What?!"

Christine furrowed her eyes, "Go and ask her if she wants to join us. We have plenty of room and she's eating all alone. It's not easy being the new kid. Just go and ask her. It can't do anyone any harm."

Terra sighed and got up. "Alright, alright. I'll go ask her. Don't expect anything, though."

The African-American girl wandered over to the almost-empty lunch table where the new girl sat. Nervous, Terra gulped and sat down next to her and cleared her throat. She turned and looked at Terra, her gold eyes betraying no emotion.

"Hi, I'm Terra Foley and we, that is, my friends and I, were wondering if you'd like to come sit with us?"

Silence omitted from the strange girl. If she was contemplating it or not, Terra couldn't tell. Finally, the girl seemed to reach a conclusion.

"Fine." She got up and the duo made their way back.

When they sat down, Christen was the firs to speak.

"Hi, I'm Christen Baxter, and this is Isabelle Matthews, Iz for short," she pointed to the light haired brunette, "Song Lee Chang," she pointed to the Asian, "and Elodie Waters," she pointed to the pale blonde.

The girl nodded, "Ayano Makita."

* * *

That night, Lilith was almost glad to return to the foster home hellhole she was forced to stay at until she came of age. An old wooden sign hung at the front of the property reading: "New Hope Foster Home". Lilith snorted at the sight of the sign; these people sure were full of themselves. Quite personally, she wished she were still in Ellsworth with her godmother. 

"Stupid social courts," Lilith muttered as she walked her bike into the rack near the porch steps.

She looked up at the blue-gray sky. _Looks like rain,_ she thought as she secured her indigo bike to the metal bike rack. Then, just as she predicted, the skies opened up and poured down all the moisture they had sucked up. Her flaming hair cooled down to smoldering embers, waiting to flare up once again. The burn mark on her back seared in white-hot pain. She grunted and bolted inside.

_Dry, dry, dry, dry_ a hissing voice in her mind chanted as she bolted to the bathroom. She didn't even notice the other foster children in the living room, or the foster mother in the kitchen door.

* * *

_**"Pain, without love**_

_**Pain, can't get enough**_

_**Pain, I like it rough**_

_**'Cause I'd rather feel pain then nothing at all."**_

Lilith sang as she dried off her burning body and smoldering hair. She looked in the mirror and watched as her hair burst into its now normally fiery color. She sighed and held a lock of her hair.

"Since I am bound to the phoenix, I am destined to burn in its flame."

"Lilith! Time for dinner!"

"Coming!"


End file.
